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Comment by rorykoehler | Hacker News Reader

I’m CTO in a software company but I don’t have a proper home office. I was using a small coworking space a 2 minute walk around the corner instead. During the pandemic i’m working in the kitchen for 4 hours before the kids get up and then in the afternoon when my wife takes the kids out. We were always partially wfh as a company anyways and tbh I get zero work done in the office when I go. I only go for morale and relationships (though I do need to take a 20 hour flight to get there). I couldn’t imagine this working in lab based companies but for a company like ours offices are bad or neutral for productivity but useful for mental health.

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> I was using a small coworking space a 2 minute walk around the corner instead

This was something I wanted to do as well - only to find out that the local coworking doesn't let you do calls in the space - you have to walk out into halls or limited number of "booths". And I found this common in coworking spaces around here. Which is a stark contrast with how open layout offices I worked in worked (you were expected to keep noise down to tolerable levels but if you didn't want to be disturbed by noise you had headphones).

The idea sounds excellent - I live 5 walking from a nearby coworking space that's really well equipped - but in practice it's not ideal. + having to leave my equipment around strangers isn't the best either and I don't want to meet randoms in a coworking space before I can feel comfortable leaving a wallet on the desk when going to the toilet.

I might end up renting a private office there - but the smallest office they have is 2 people and that's a lot more expensive than a coworking desk.

I agree with everything else you said - I love walking out with my wife and son around lunch time and flexible work hours are much better - I tend to be most productive later in the day anyway - which usually meant I spent mornings in the office socialising and procrastinating and then having to work late - I get to spend that time with my family now.

I use afternoons for focused work, no calls, so it works for me. In the morning I usually work from the kitchen taking calls etc as I can make coffee etc and everyone is still asleep anyways. Calls are definitely an issue for coworking. I even considered designing and developing modular call booths for coworking space at one time (when I ran a space).

Taking calls in open plan workspaces is so incredibly thoughtless to others working.

Wildly distracting and frustrating when people do this.

No noise canceling headphones do not block out voices.

> Taking calls in open plan workspaces is so incredibly thoughtless to others working.

This is why that old, stuffy, sclerotic behemoth named IBM used to have individual offices with doors.

Funny that.

Closed headphones do a better job, because a thick hunk of plastic doesn’t need to predict the incoming noise. I found HD-280 to be pretty comfortable.

There often just isn't a choice. When I was shopping for co-working spaces I'd see tons of open plan space, with maybe 1 or 2 tiny phone closets for 50 - 100 people. They were always in constant use. I don't know why open offices don't set aside more space for private conversations when they need to happen.

> Which is a stark contrast with how open layout offices I worked in worked (you were expected to keep noise down to tolerable levels but if you didn't want to be disturbed by noise you had headphones).

People who thought they could talk as loud as they want / hold an impromptu meeting by your desk and thought it was your problem to sort out if you didn’t like it are a lot of the reason why I hated open plan offices so much.

> I only go for morale and relationships (though I do need to take a 20 hour flight to get there). I couldn’t imagine this working in lab based companies but for a company like ours offices are bad or neutral for productivity but useful for mental health.

It is like that when people go there to socialize. It is different if company culture treats offices as places to work in.

Many of my colleagues work from there but afaict only support type roles perform well in that environment.

> I only go for morale and relationships

As somebody who seems to be in a leadership position, you need to realize that building relationships and improving morale are part of your work.

I really don't get this are you in some super poor country? No offense intended. I'm an IT manager of a mediocre real estate company and I have a decked out home office with all the new toys and with a mini data center that could power a medium size office. In all probably totaling in the mid 5 figures. All company paid and I doubt they remember I exist most days. Where are these tech first companies that barely allow a CTO to scrape by with no resources?

Remember: "CTO" sometimes means "I am the technical founder of a 3 person company"

Not the GP, but my guess is probably Canada?

Not to say it applies to the OP, but there are "CTOs" (poorly compensated, ramen startup engineer with a fancy title) then there are CTOs (well compensated--cash and equity, and C-Suite or C-Suite adjacent individuals at a well-capitalized real business)

Between the two extremes mentioned there is the engine of the global economy. That's where we are.

If you're in a high COL area, then the constraint is usually an extra room away from your family, not the equipment. Not always an option to buy or rent a place with another room once you start working from home. My company sure isn't paying an extra $500-1,000 per month to cover rent/mortgage.

High pay does not imply that you live in a large house with ample space for an office even if you can afford it. Someone living in a $1M+ condo in an urban high-rise for the lifestyle is unlikely to have space for an office if they did not plan on needing one when they bought it. Most people aren't in the habit of spending lots of money on things they don't plan on using. Even if you wanted to move to a larger house since COVID means you now need an office, in many regions there is no housing available to buy.

I don't have a home office either and no one would confuse me with being poor. Until COVID, I had no use for one.

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